-------- Original Message --------
Subject: $1.044mn Digital Project
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 12:19:00 -0400
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Please excuse the cross posting:
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9-30-04

FOR INFORMATION:
NCSU Libraries
Steven Morris
Campus Box 7111
Raleigh, NC 27695-7111
(919) 515-1361

NCSU Libraries Launches $1.044mn Digital Project with the Library of
Congress

The Library of Congress and the North Carolina State University
Libraries entered into a cooperative agreement to complete a $1.044
million project through the National Digital Information Infrastructure
and Preservation Program on September 30, 2004.  The Library of
Congress
is contributing approximately half the total amount of the project. The
NCSU Libraries is partnering with the North Carolina Center for
Geographic Information and Analysis on a three-year project to collect
and preserve at-risk digital geospatial data resources from state and
local government agencies. Although the effort will focus solely on
North Carolina, it is expected to serve as a demonstration project for
other states.

The geospatial resources targeted by the NCSU Libraries’ project
include
digitized maps, geographic information systems (GIS) data sets, and
remote sensing data resources such as digital aerial photography. A
wide
range of state and local agencies create these forms of data for use in
tax assessment, transportation planning, hazard analysis, health
planning, political redistricting, homeland security, and utilities
management.

State and local agencies frequently offer more detailed and up-to-date
geospatial data than federal agencies.  However, these entities are by
definition decentralized, and their dissemination practices focus
almost
exclusively on providing access to the most current data available,
rather than any older versions.  In 2003 the North Carolina Geographic
Information Coordinating Council launched a plan to “organize the
geographic information assets statewide” under a program called NC
OneMap.  One of the stated goals of NC OneMap is to ensure continuous
access to historic and temporal data.

The NCSU Libraries and the North Carolina Center for Geographic
Information and Analysis will identify available resources through the
NC OneMap data inventory and acquire at-risk geospatial data.  The
project partners will develop a digital repository architecture for
geospatial data through use of open source software tools such as
DSpace
and emerging metadata standards such as Metadata Encoding and
Transmission Standard (METS). In addition, the partners will
investigate
methods for automating the identification and capture of data resources
by using emerging Open Geospatial Consortium specifications for data
interoperability.  One outcome of the North Carolina project will be
the
development of a model for data archiving and time series development
that can guide and inform digital preservation efforts in other states
and countries.

In 2001, NCSU Libraries received an International Special Achievement
award from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)
recognizing its accomplishments in advancing GIS technology. NCSU
Libraries began offering geospatial data services in the mid-1990's and
was an early leader in collecting data from North Carolina's local
governments.  Data resources continue to be acquired, cataloged, and
made available in the library and through a campus-wide networked
server, and are used by every academic college at NCSU.  Other services
offered include assistance with finding and using data resources,
providing access to public workstations, and training.
(http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/gis/)

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world.  Through
its National Digital Library (NDL) Program, it is also one of the
leading providers of noncommercial intellectual content on the Internet
(http://www.loc.gov/).  The NDL Program’s flagship American Memory
project, in collaboration with other institutions nationwide, makes
freely available more than 8.5 million American historical items. In
December 2000, Congress authorized the Library of Congress to develop
and execute a congressionally approved plan for a National Digital
Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program.  A $99.8 million
congressional appropriation was made to establish the program.  The
goal
is to build a network throughout the country of committed partners
working through a preservation architecture with defined roles and
responsibilities.  The complete text of the “Plan for the National
Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program” is
available at http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/.  This includes an
explanation of how the plan was developed, who the Library worked with
to develop the plan and the key components of the digital preservation
infrastructure.  The plan was approved by Congress in December 2002.

The NCSU Libraries, with more than 3.2 million volumes, over 51,000
print and electronic serials, and hundreds of databases, offers
leading-edge resources and services from its central library, the D. H.
Hill Library, and four branch libraries. For full information about the
NCSU Libraries, visit http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/